Found Deceased CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, did not return from bike ride, Chaffee County, 10 May 2020 #21

[Love Never Fails]

I don't understand. Why would you expect warrants unsealed during an ongoing investigation? In the new age, anything digital (phone, video, gps, etc) will be sealed too. Colorado won't even tell you how many warrants have been issued!

Sealed search warrants on the rise; prosecutor says it's nature of today's digital investigations

I always thought LE keeps everything sealed until an arrest is made.

 

[Boxer]

Feisty,
This is a good post. You have given a lot of thought to his innocence or guilt. Since I stay with posts here or in MSM, I’m wondering what ways you come up with the alternate theories. Is it from SM, maybe FB? I know statements from SM can’t be discussed here but I still wonder.

You know I believe he is guilty and I was on the fence awhile. I have nothing concrete to base my opinion on. Guess I really look at his lack of emotion and lack of action in past nine weeks.

MOO he does not look like he is looking for his wife of decades and the mother of his children.
That passivity has one main interpretation by about everyone.
Are there any articles that I missed about the massive search he told TD that he mounted with friends?

 

[Fireflize]

MOO he does not look like he is looking for his wife of decades and the mother of his children.
That passivity has one main interpretation by about everyone.
Are there any articles thay I missed about the massive search he told TD that he mounted with friends?

Boxer, I think the only thing we have for the massive searches is BMs word for it. Moo

 

[Love Never Fails]

MOO he does not look like he is looking for his wife of decades and the mother of his children.
That passivity has one main interpretation by about everyone.
Are there any articles thay I missed about the massive search he told TD that he mounted with friends?

Not one that I know of.

 

[Seattle1]

I always thought LE keeps everything sealed until an arrest is made.

Its usually beyond the arrest. I don't think we've seen warrants released in Colo until after the preliminary hearing. I do think the exception is going to be digital information that will remain sealed until the trial concludes. MOO

 

[OldCop]

Thank you! That helps a lot.

So family could expect BM to know what they are searching for in the home, but not necessarily what evidence they already have that justified the search warrant. Does that sound accurate?

MOO

Yes, but apparently, there are different laws in different states. We always produced a copy of the warrant when we conducted a search. (Unless we had a “no knock” warrant.) Some states require you to produce the warrant, but they don’t say when you have to produce it. In most jurisdictions, if the affidavit is sealed, they will also seal the warrant and any other documentation that LE used for probable cause.

 

[Love Never Fails]

Its usually beyond the arrest. I don't think we've seen warrants released in Colo until after the preliminary hearing. I do think the exception is going to be digital information that will remain sealed until the trial concludes. MOO

I was thinking the arrest warrant on Leticia Stauch was released the day after her arrest.
Am I dreaming?
Maybe it was the search warrant of their home?
These cases are running together for me.

The murder of Gannon was the most horrific I have read about in a long time.

 

[OldCop]

What if it’s paperwork or banking information and they don’t know where to search?

I had visions of LE going in and tearing a home apart.

How small a space might paperwork fit into? A file drawer? If you are looking for paperwork and come across a file cabinet, you could look through it to see if the paperwork was in there. Also, that kind of info might be on a computer. You would get a warrant for the home to search for the computer, then you get a warrant to search the computer itself. Similar to cell phones, etc. In the Gannon Stauch case there were massive amounts of search warrants issued. You are always better to be safe than sorry. It does you no good to find evidence that will be thrown out in court.

 

[Ashildir]

BM has said things like "we may have missed something" and "she got in the river" and "job in Denver was out of the ordinary for him" (paraphrasing on that one, it was linked here last night

sbm, bbm - who would he have told? In relation to BM suggesting an abduction etc. how many people would he have told that he had a job in Denver, I cant imagine the list being very long imo

eta - particularly during a pandemic

 

[JnRyan]

I always thought LE keeps everything sealed until an arrest is made.

It probably depends on the state. During the Christina Morris case we had copies of search warrants on here before an arrest was even made because in Texas the search warrant is sealed until it is executed. Colorado must obviously keep them sealed till an arrest or maybe a preliminary hearing.

 

[Megnut]

Wait! What? Whelp!

Let's play something I like to call Compare & Contrast

BM is successfully dodging the media.

TD welcomes it.

He just THANKED Scharf for her coverage of Suzanne Morphew's case.

He, whom you might expect to have an entrepreneurial basis for scooping the media, is working WITH media, to keep Suzanne Morphew's face front and center, going so far as seeking out the manager at the WalMarts, to position the Suzanne Morphew Missing poster frontwise. I notice, too, he misses no opportunity to use Suzanne Morphew's NAME.

What's the other guy doing, to locate his wife and keep her name out there?

To be fair, he did give facebook the one Oh, Suzanne.

<modsnip>

It's a sad day when a complete stranger cares more about a person than the person vowed TO care....

Grateful that TS is carrying SUZANNE MORPHEW'S story forward....

Turns out, it's not too soon at all.

JMO

 

[Love Never Fails]

How small a space might paperwork fit into? A file drawer? If you are looking for paperwork and come across a file cabinet, you could look through it to see if the paperwork was in there. Also, that kind of info might be on a computer. You would get a warrant for the home to search for the computer, then you get a warrant to search the computer itself. Similar to cell phones, etc. In the Gannon Stauch case there were massive amounts of search warrants issued. You are always better to be safe than sorry. It does you no good to find evidence that will be thrown out in court.

Interesting. So in the Stauch case, even if LS deleted everything on the hard drive, would a warrant then be used for recovery of the information? Couldn’t that take weeks? How does LE know what they are searching for?
I’ve noticed the prosecutor doesn’t bring up every incriminating piece of information they find. Usually just enough to convict. it would be awesome if they were allowed to write a book listing everything they find. I would love reading that. I guess that goes against a person’s rights? It’s just interesting to me. Not the gore, just the way it all comes together.

 

[Love Never Fails]

Yes, but apparently, there are different laws in different states. We always produced a copy of the warrant when we conducted a search. (Unless we had a “no knock” warrant.) Some states require you to produce the warrant, but they don’t say when you have to produce it. In most jurisdictions, if the affidavit is sealed, they will also seal the warrant and any other documentation that LE used for probable cause.

I won’t argue about reasons for no knock warrants but that is scary to me.

 

[Minordetails]

Well, the lady did state that she had been hearing equipment noises for quite a while since the start of construction so IMO she should recognize the loud noise instantly.

I’m guessing whoever started the piece of equipment that night, has already been asked and openly told LE which piece of equipment was running.
MOO

 

[RumorMonger]

Would they have dug up the site based on this one neighbor’s report?

It requires a bit of interpretation but the neighbor also mentioned a GPR or something similar. "Branson said investigators used ... special equipment that could see through the cement." Side note: I wonder why the article doesn't actually confirm that the tool was a GPR. Maybe it wasn't? Maybe LE wouldn't confirm that it was? ("part of the investigation")

Neighbors want answers two months into Chaffee County woman’s disappearance | FOX21 News Colorado

 

[Poedelini]

I’m guessing whoever started the piece of equipment that night, has already been asked and openly told LE which piece of equipment was running.
MOO

Im super curious. It could tell us alot of things. Jmo

 

[Minordetails]

Yeah it could be all of the options above. It must be major to get a second warrant for the home i feel like. Jmo

I’m not sure that major breakthrough had to happen in order for a second warrant. Her home was likely the last building she was in. It only makes sense to search her house thoroughly and then search it again. After all, it was, and is her home.
IMO

 

[RumorMonger]

LE got a second search warrant to go back to the house, according to LS's report.

That's new info.

To anyone that may know:
If a SW is sealed, must it still be presented to the subject at the time its executed? If so, is the subject allowed to make the contents public? TIA

 

[Sillybilly]

Please STOP asking for or posting links to documents related to the property that was searched.

If you wish to sleuth privately behind the scenes, that's fine, but do NOT post about it on this public thread. These homeowners are entitled to their privacy.

 

[OldCop]

Interesting. So in the Stauch case, even if LS deleted everything on the hard drive, would a warrant then be used for recovery of the information? Couldn’t that take weeks? How does LE know what they are searching for?
I’ve noticed the prosecutor doesn’t bring up every incriminating piece of information they find. Usually just enough to convict. it would be awesome if they were allowed to write a book listing everything they find. I would love reading that. I guess that goes against a person’s rights? It’s just interesting to me. Not the gore, just the way it all comes together.

Yes, most major police departments, (and some smaller ones), state and federal agencies all have officers or agents who are computer experts.
You asked how LE knows what they are searching for. This is where probable cause comes into play. If John Doe was shot with a 38 caliber handgun and you have evidence that your POI has that kind of gun, you obtain a search warrant to look in your POI’s home, vehicle, storage shed etc. you base your affidavit on the sales receipt for the gun, an eyewitness he showed it to, gun casing found where he was target shooting. The thing is, you have to know what you are looking for. As I stated above, it can’t be a fishing expedition.
The same goes for paperwork. Why would you need it? Do you have evidence that there was an insurance scam involved or financial difficulties? If you believe that might be the motive, you have to be able to show why these papers are vital to the case, why they should be seized.